The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) has written to Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to raise concerns about how she described Ireland’s proposed Occupied Territories Bill in her August 7 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and in related public remarks.
In its statement, the AOH emphasized that it is not taking a position on whether the bill is good or bad policy. Instead, the group’s concern is “solely with the accuracy of the bill’s description and the fairness shown toward Ireland.”
According to the AOH, Congresswoman Tenney’s letter wrongly frames the legislation as a broad boycott of Israel. In reality, they note, the bill applies only to goods and services originating in territories internationally recognized as occupied—primarily the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Portraying it as a ban on all trade with Israel, the statement continues, ignores a well-established distinction acknowledged by Republican and Democratic administrations alike, including under President Trump.
The AOH also objected to the tone of Tenney’s remarks. The congresswoman’s letter and press release used highly charged terms such as “a blatant attempt to isolate and delegitimize Israel” and “discriminatory,” while citing advocacy groups that accused Ireland of antisemitism or engaging in “bigoted boycotts.”
Such language, the AOH argued, assumes bad faith, replaces substantive analysis with personal attacks, and undermines constructive debate. “It has no place in responsible public discourse,” the release said.
Neil F. Cosgrove, the AOH’s National Political Education Chair, stated:
“Members of Congress have a solemn duty to present policy disagreements with accuracy and in good faith—especially when the reputations of allied nations and the credibility of U.S. law are on the line. As we’ve recently seen with differing U.S. and U.K. positions on Palestine, allies can disagree on policy. But misrepresentation and inflammatory rhetoric serve no one. We hope these mischaracterizations will not happen again.”
In his letter to Rep. Tenney, Cosgrove reiterated that the bill addresses only products from settlements in occupied territories, not Israel as a sovereign nation. By equating the measure with an outright boycott of Israel, he wrote, the congresswoman disregards a distinction long recognized by U.S. foreign policy.
He further criticized her choice of words and the decision to quote advocacy groups making sweeping accusations against Ireland, calling it “a substitution of ad hominem attacks for rational debate” and warning that conflating policy criticism with prejudice “shuts down the informed discussion needed to find solutions.”
Cosgrove closed by urging Tenney to ensure that future comments reflect the actual scope of any legislation discussed and to clearly separate opposition to a nation’s policies from bias against its people.
Copies of the letter were sent to fifteen other Republican members of Congress who signed Tenney’s original message to Secretary Bessent.